Periodization

[RRAdam]

I have been reading up quite a bit on periodization, and have been working on a new workout plan...

how does this look? its rough, I dont have my 1rm down for my lifts yet either. but just as a template.


Week 1 (all lifts at around 60-65% 1rm and 30 sec rest in between sets unless noted)
monday - back/bis
deadlifts or good mornings 4 sets 12 reps
seated rows 4 sets 12 reps
lat pull downs 4 sets 12 reps
alternating db curls 4 sets 12 reps
conc. curls 3 sets 12 reps
wrist curls 3 sets 20 reps


Tuesday - shoulders
Arnold press 4x12
rear delt raises 4x12
lateral raises 4x12
front raises 4x12
shrugs 4x12
ab work

Wendesday - cardio

Thursday - legs
back squats or box squats 4x12
zercher squats, front squats, or split squats 4x12
sldl 4x12
leg ext. 4x12
leg curls 4x12
calf raises 4x16

Friday - Chest/tris
flat bench 4x12
incline db bench 4x12
flys 4x12
tricep press 4x12
tri pulldown 4x12
kickbacks 4x12

saturday - cardio

sunday - off or light cardio


Week 2 (weight @ 75-85% 1rm, with 1 min rest unless noted)

monday - back/bis
deadlifts or good mornings 4 sets 6 reps
seated rows 4 sets 6 reps
lat pull downs 4 sets 6 reps
alternating db curls 4 sets 6 reps
conc. curls 3 sets 6 reps
wrist curls 3 sets 20 reps (60% max)


Tuesday - shoulders
Arnold press 4x6
rear delt raises 4x6
lateral raises 4x6
front raises 4x6
shrugs 4x6
ab work

Wendesday - cardio

Thursday - legs
back squats or box squats 4x6
zercher squats, front squats, or split squats 4x6
sldl 4x6
leg ext. 4x6
leg curls 4x6
calf raises 4x12

Friday - Chest/tris
flat bench 4x6
incline db bench 4x6
flys 4x6
tricep press 4x6
tri pulldown 4x6
kickbacks 4x6

saturday - cardio

sunday - off or light cardio

Week 3 (weight at 80-90% 1rm, 2 min rest, and to positive failure unless noted)

monday - back/bis
deadlifts or good mornings 5 sets 4 reps
seated rows 5 sets 4 reps
lat pull downs 5 sets 4 reps
alternating db curls 5 sets 4 reps
conc. curls 3 sets 8 reps
wrist curls 3 sets 20 reps


Tuesday - shoulders
Arnold press 5x4
rear delt raises 5x4
lateral raises 5x4
front raises 5x4
shrugs 5x4
ab work

Wendesday - cardio

Thursday - legs
back squats or box squats 5x4
zercher squats, front squats, or split squats 5x4
sldl 5x4
leg ext. 5x4
leg curls 5x4
calf raises 4x16 (60-70% max)

Friday - Chest/tris
flat bench 5x4
incline db bench 5x4
flys 5x4
tricep press 5x4
tri pulldown 5x4
kickbacks 5x4

saturday - cardio

sunday - off or light cardio

Week 4 (weight at 60-65% 1rm for core lifts, 75-80% for aux. lifts, 20 sec break in between core lift sets 1 minute for aux lifts. focus on core lifts will be speed)

monday - back/bis
partial deadlifts and good mornings 12 sets 3 reps
seated rows 4 sets 8 reps
lat pull downs 4 sets 8 reps
alternating db curls 4 sets 8 reps
conc. curls 3 sets 8 reps
wrist curls 3 sets 20 reps


Tuesday - shoulders
Arnold press 4x8
rear delt raises 4x8
lateral raises 4x8
front raises 4x8
shrugs 4x8
ab work

Wendesday - cardio

Thursday - legs
back squats or box squats 12x3
zercher squats, front squats, or split squats 12x3
sldl 12x3
leg ext. 4x8
leg curls 4x8
calf raises 4x16

Friday - Chest/tris
flat bench 12x3
incline db bench 12x3
flys 4x8
tricep press 4x8
tri pulldown 4x8
kickbacks 4x8

saturday - cardio

sunday - off or light cardio

Week 5 ( I will probably max out this week and if i find that this SOB works, i will start back with week 1)

[RRAdam]

comments anyone?

[Dan]

I really don't know much about the science behind this, but as I said on another thread, I like the idea of adding weight to each lift each workout until your rep range is too low, then lightening the weight and starting over. This follows the progressive load principle that all those HST users go ga-ga over, allows you to vary your rep range constantly, and is very simple. I know some very large individuals who do this, and I now do it as well and it seems to be working so far.

[MaDmaN]

I swear by periodization,training for hypertrophy,strength and power.This has been the staple of my training the last 11 months.Not only have I lost 70lbs of fat I must og gained at least 20-30 pounds of muscle during the same time...

[RRAdam]

I'm loving it...

so far

[meathead1987]

Well. I have been using periodized programs for ~ the last 7months.

I have put on 22lbs so far, about 5 of fat, and 15 of muscle, and a couple of pounds of water.

I have done:

2 cycles of Fortified iron's periodized program(loading volume and intensity over 6 weeks) gained ~8lbs

TP PT by twin peak(13 week program, loading volume, intensity, the frequency. Gained ~9lbs here.

Been on my own conjugate program for 3 weeks now. High volume, and progressively adding more volume over 6 weeks, then deloading. I am up ~4-5lbs so far.

My current journal:

http://forum.bodybuilding.com/showthread.php?t=321185

[LunaHotel]

Periodization, under one form or another, is the very basis of continued hypertrophy. Possibly, strength gains themselves can be had without periodization.

Periodization, in its less restrictive definition, is simply changing the type of routine you do from time to time. Of course, "Periodization" has been a coined term for planned and thought-out routine changes, going from strength, to mass, to power, to definition periods.

Even if you're going to be in any phase for a long time, you're still going to change many things in your routine, and eventually go back to things you've done before. That's some kind of periodization right there. It is absolutely necessary to the success of your endeavour, but sometimes alll the planning and work of a formal "Periodization" approach don't really add up to that much more in terms of results than going "Hum, I've been doing short rest and high reps for a while, let's change to medium reps and long rest for a few weeks"...

[Dan]

KISS principle, guys.

[RRAdam]

I'm all about the KISS... i dont think that scheme is complicated at all - just long because i broke it down week by week. I have seen some whacked out complex training schemes... but the simple ones always seem to work best.

[Dan]

There's nothing wrong with what you've got up there IMO, its just that some people (nobody here of course )seem to get all caught up in the most scientific way of doing things that they just get confused. Periodization is great, but I see so many guys using these complex training programs that they found in this magazine or that website and it bothers me to see people spinning their wheels and going nowhere.

[Chunky]

Abut periodization, I make up my own program that follow this philosophy, and had a question about different kind of hypertrophy.

Would that be correct to say that the longer you put the muscle under tension, the better sarcoplasmic hypertrophy will occur (let's say 40 sec of TUT or so) and about 20-35 sec, it will be geared most toward myofibrillar hypertrophy. Or is the number of reps more important since more reps means more work done (law of physic), so more work would mean more sarcoplasmic hypertrophy?

[LunaHotel]

More reps doesn't equal more work done. The reason for that is that the equation reps x range of motion = work done assumes a given tempo for the reps. Just holding a weight without moving it is work. Hold a 50-lb dumbell out in front of your face with your arm fully extended for a few hours and you'll see what I mean. This is because of good old gravity. Lowering a weight slowly is more work than lowering it more quickly.

There is a lot of questioning about which kind of training will give you which kind of growth. Do you know which training STYLE will release which HORMONES? That is where you need to look in the first place because more often than not, total-body hormonal, and hopefully anabolic, response to training is more important than which specific exercise you do, all thought in terms of muscle-level stimuli but completely forgetting that the body is a whole.

In other words, unless you understand the role of systemic IGF-1 vs autocrine IGF-1, how testosterone, growth hormone, cortisol and insulin all work and how to increase or decrease each of these hormones by changing your training style and nutrition, and all these things' effects on your body as a whole and muscles in particular, down to the microbiology of it all, including the myonuclear number phenomena, then it's not a valid question, yet.